Summers' Solstice
by sinnerforhire
Summary: Please r/r!! A different perspective on the episode "Leech."


Title: Summers' Solstice

Author: AmandaLynn125 (amandalynn99@earthlink.net)

Rating: PG-13 (language)

Genre: Drama/Angst

Spoilers: Major for "Leech"

Archive: anywhere, just let me know where

Summary: A different spin on "Leech" and its aftermath from a slightly Mary Sue-ish friend.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Smallville_ or any of the characters. Dialogue snippets from "Leech" used without permission.

"Eric, this is incredible!" Jackie exclaimed, as Eric threw the _Smallville Ledger_ down on the cafeteria table, open to his picture and the headline **Super Boy**. "How did you _do _it?"

"I don't know," Eric stammered. "It just kinda happened, you know? I mean, it felt natural; I didn't have to strain for it or anything. And that knife just…shattered! On my hand, and it didn't hurt! It was so weird, but it was really cool."

"So, you get hit by lightning and all of a sudden you're super strong, super fast, and physically invincible? God, we should all be so lucky!" Jackie commented. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know…this all happened so fast. I mean, I don't even know what to do. People are asking for my _autograph_! It's insane! I love it, but it's totally insane."

"I hope you don't let this go to your head too much, _Superboy_," Jackie teased, smiling. "You're still human, after all."

"Maybe I'm not, though!" Eric replied excitedly. "What if I'm not human anymore? How totally cool would _that_ be?"

"Eric, you have watched way too much _X-Files_ over the years. You're still Eric Summers, my best friend. Right?"

"Of course. But now I'm _Super_ Best Friend!" Eric joked. 

Jackie laughed. She knew most people thought Eric was a complete dork, but since they thought the same about her, she and Eric made a perfect match. They'd bonded over _The X-Files_ back in seventh grade, and ever since they'd been best friends. 

A group of girls came rushing over to their carefully chosen table in the very back corner of the cafeteria. "Eric, sign my notebook," one of them begged, giggling. The others hung back shyly, pushing hair out of their faces or chewing on their nails. Jackie rolled her eyes.

"This is such a trip!" Eric exclaimed when they were gone. "I mean, I'm practically _popular_!" 

"Don't say that too loudly," warned Jackie. "You know how the Neanderthals feel about you."

"Well, they can't do a damn thing to me now!" Eric retorted proudly. "I can do whatever I want, to whoever I want, and _no one_--not even Brent and his jackass friends--can stop me."

"Whoa, hold on a second," replied Jackie, alarmed. "I know you've wanted to get these jerkoffs for years now--so have I--but don't do something you're going to regret. Pranks are one thing. Throwing somebody thirty feet through plate glass is another."

"Don't you see? I've finally got them by the balls!" Eric gleefully announced. "They can't get me. _I_ can get _them_!"

"Eric, you're scaring me. Don't go all Columbine on me," Jackie said, concerned. If only she knew what would happen the next day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eric showed up at Jackie's door that night looking panicked. "Eric, what's wrong?"

"My dad wants to devote my body to science!" Eric snarled. "He's already talked to a _friend_ of his at Metropolis U. And my mom looks at me like she's afraid I'm accidentally going to kill her with my bare hands! They think I'm a freak, Jackie! They think I should be locked up in some underground lab with some crazy-haired mad scientist!"

Jackie put her arm around Eric's shoulders. "I'm sorry, but honestly, it's your dad. What did you expect from him?"

"Just for once I wanted them to be proud of me!" he screamed, his face reddening. "I was in the fucking _newspaper_ for stopping a crime! And what do I get for it? My mom's terrified and my dad's shipping me off to be sliced and diced!" In his anger, tears had appeared in his eyes. He wiped them angrily from his cheeks. Jackie felt her heart breaking for him. She knew how Mr. Summers was, and she knew that Eric would never measure up to his expectations no matter what he did. 

There was nothing Jackie could say to comfort him--the truth was the truth, and Eric was right about everything. All she could do was just sit there and hug him, and hope that things would be better for him tomorrow.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day Eric came in to school armed with a boombox and a long black leather trenchcoat. He wore a silver chain around his neck, and if Jackie didn't know better she would have thought he was trying to look like a thug. Like one of _them_.

"Hey, Eric," she said, trying to catch up to him. "What's with the threads? You going gangsta on me?"

"Fuck everybody," Eric said in a low, menacing voice. "They're going to get what's coming to them. It's Judgment Day."

"Eric, no! This isn't the way! I told you, don't go Columbine on this place! I know you think you're invincible, but what happens when the cops come? I don't want my best friend to be in jail for the rest of his life!"

He stopped and turned to Jackie, and his smile sent chills down her spine. He was bent on destruction, and not even she could stop him. She just prayed he wouldn't kill anyone.

She followed him outside. He had his boombox blaring, and he headed straight for Holly and Brent. Jackie hung back, afraid of what was going to happen next. This wasn't the Eric she knew. This wasn't her best friend. This was a monster.

She watched him set the boombox down on the table and start flirting with Holly. Brent got up and started shoving him away. Eric punched a mirror on the truck next to him, shattering it into a million glistening pieces. Jackie gasped. Brent, terrified, ran around the truck and tried to slide underneath it, but Eric was strong enough to pick it up. She heard Eric's comment. "What's the matter, Brent? Why are you hiding from nothing?" 

Jackie watched in fascinated horror as Eric flipped the truck over, rolling it across the parking lot in a mangled heap. "Oh my God," she whispered aloud. "Oh, God, Eric, don't do this."

Brent couldn't escape Eric, no matter how hard he tried. Jackie held her breath as Eric grabbed Brent and threw him full-force into the picnic table. She covered her eyes. _God, I hope he's not dead. Pleeeeaaaase don't let him be dead._ She looked over and saw Holly rushing to his side. 

Just then, Clark Kent stepped out from the crowd. "Eric! You can't do this!"

"Watch me!" Eric shouted back. Jackie flinched. Clark had never done anything to Eric, but she knew Eric was going to hurt him anyway. She wanted to cry, she was so frustrated. What had happened to her best friend Eric?

Eric grabbed Clark and tossed him on top of a truck, smashing the truck's windows. The gathering crowd stood silent, awed and terrified by Eric's actions. Eric stopped and looked down at Brent.

"Get away from us, you freak!" Holly screamed desperately. Jackie fought her way out of the think crowd and tried to get to Eric, but just as she screamed "Eric!", he ran off at his super-fast speed. She wanted to follow him, but had no idea where he would be going. She gazed at the carnage, stunned. How could Eric have done this? How could her best friend have nearly killed two students? One of whom used to be his friend?

A tear slipped slowly down Jackie's cheek. What had happened to her Eric, and what would happen now to this monster that had taken his place?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Jackie sat alone in her room, sobbing. For Eric, for herself, for Brent, for Clark, for Holly…for everyone who had to witness what Super-Eric did that day at lunch. What had happened to change Eric so drastically? Eric never seemed the type to let a little power go to his head.  
But then, this wasn't a little power. This was the ultimate physical power--unbeatable, unbreakable, indestructible. Strong enough to throw a beefy jock with no effort whatsoever. And emotionally strong enough, apparently, to be complete compassionless. He didn't even care what he had done! That wasn't the Eric Summers she knew. Eric had his faults, but being utterly ruthless wasn't among them. She shook her head and sobbed harder. What would happen now? What _could_ happen now?

~*~*~*~*~*~


End file.
